Yes, we talked a little while ago about th possibility that daVinci was waiting on Scaled to make an announcement so that daVinci could wring every last develpment hour out of the race before they launched. I suspect that daVinci determined that they didn't have time to do a series of test launches and still beat Scaled...so once the decision was made to go for the prize without a prior full test flight, then it seems reasonable to wait and time your launch to coincide with Scaleds...since daVinci will likely have only one shot at the prize anyway.

If you're a non-press type person like me, you may be wondering just WHEN today the big announcement is supposed to be made. I emailed Scaled to see if i could find out. Scaled is usually excellent at replying to emails from fans, and this was no exception.

According to the reply I received, the press release is supposed to be on the main X Prize page at 11:30 a.m. PDT

So, what exactly is required for there to be an actual race to the finish line?

I've heard that Da Vinci needs $500,000 to finish their efforts, but I've also read that they only need $350,000. How much is this figure actually, and what proportion of costs is this? (i.e. are these funds still 20% of their costs, meaning that this isn't a goal they will reach in the immediate future, or is this just the final drop in the bucket?)

As for raising these funds, is that the reason for the August 5th roll-out? Is that going to be a fund-raising venture?

And on Xprizenews, there was an article where Nestle asked them how much it would cost to bring Smarties into space, but Feeney hadn't given them an answer yet. Is it just me, or should his answer have been "$350,000 please." Does anyone in the industry know what the value of an actual Nestle sponsorship would be?

Can't answer anything about the funding. But you'd certainly think 350 grand would be chicken feed to Nestle.

But I don't see any "race to the finish line". If I understand correctly (and maybe I don't) the only way da Vinci could catch up is if SpaceShipOne fails their attempt. Which is possible, to be sure, but I don't expect it.[/i]

If Da Vinci has some type of funding miracle around the corner (I have a feeling that the Nestle thing is worth only like $10k), they could announce their 60-day notice on the 4th, along with their roll-out.

This seems like it might be a possibilty, as SS1 is trying for their second attempt on Oct 4th. (Is there any other reason its the 4th? Is it just a coincidence that that is the safest turn-around time).

In my wildest dreams, I was hoping that Da Vinci would announce their 60-day a few days earlier, and if by some chance their rocket's design allows for a quicker turn-around time than SS1, then it could be an interesting finish.

Supposing Da Vinci gets the funding, what else is required? (What the heck is the money for?) Is it buying gas for the balloon, or is it something more time consuming like allowing for the construction of high-tech seatbelts? What is left on their checklist?

How about the rest of you - what scenario could put Da Vinci in the running? (besides SS1 failing - that's no fun)....